The Ramsar Bulletin Board, 1 October 2004

Headline story.Honors for former Mayor Wanibuchi. The city of Kushiro, in Hokkaido, Japan, has recently conferred its first award of honorary citizenship upon former mayor Toshiyuki Wanibuchi on 15 September 2004. Mayor Wanibuchi worked hard from 1990 onward to bring the Ramsar Parties to Kushiro for the 5th meeting of the Contracting Parties in 1993 and to make that COP one of the Convention's most memorable for thorough preparations and hospitality. in 1995, Mr Wanibuchi became the first president of the new Kushiro International Wetland Centre (KIWC), dedicated to following up on the momentum created by the COP; Naoko Satoh of KIWC and former Ramsar staff member Dr Satoshi Kobayashi will be joining in a Kushiro reunion of COP5 participants on 1 October 2004, and the latest edition of UNITAR's training sessions on wetlands and biodiversity management will be convening there later in the year. Ramsar Secretary General Peter Bridgewatercontributed a message of greetings for the occasion of Mr Wanibuchi's Kushiro ceremony. [30/09/04]

From the Wetlands Forum.WWF-Malaysia offers three vacancies. WWF-Malaysia is seeking to fill three senior positions, 1) based in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Management (Technical) and, based in Petaling Jaya, Selangor Darul Ehsan, 2) Species and 3) Forestry. Here is the announcement. [link later removed] [30/09/04]

Who's where?

Tobias Salathé, Senior Advisor for Europe, is in Orléans, France, 28-30 September 2004, for a seminar of the EUROWET project, as a member of the task force on legislation and policy, to provide a transfer of research results into laws and policies, notably the Water Framework Directive and its Common Implementation Strategy (costs paid by the hosts). [28/09/04]

Mr. Seiuli Vainuupo Jungblut, who was recently appointed Assistant Ramsar Officer at the South Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) in Apia, Samoa, a position supported by the governments of Australia and the USA, SPREP, and WWF International, is visiting the Ramsar Secretariat in Switzerland for the week of 27 September - 2 October for briefings on Ramsar issues and challenges. [27/09/04]

Nick Davidson, Deputy Secretary General, is in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, for a one-day session of the MA Ramsar Synthesis Team to finalise the consultation draft of the MA's report for the Ramsar Convention, which will be circulated for review and comment to all Ramsar Parties and other experts in October. Following that, he will participate in the final meeting of the MA's Combined Working Groups, during which the chapter authors teams of the MA's full reports will be working to finalise their texts in the light of the many comments received through their second draft review process. He will be back in the office on 1 October. [23/09/04]

Yesterday's News!

Moldova, Ukraine, and Poland discuss Dniester cooperation. Integrated Management of Natural Resources in the Transboundary Dniester River Basin was the title of an international conference held on 16-17 September in Chisinau, the capital of the Republic of Moldova, organised by "Eco-Tiras" (the International Environmental Association of River Keepers) and the Moldovian Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources. The two-day conference attracted nearly 200 participants from Moldova, Ukraine and Poland, the three countries sharing the Dniester river from the Carpathian mountains to the Black Sea, covering a catchment basin of 70,000 km2 with five million inhabitants. Ramsar's Tobias Salathé supplies a brief illustrated report of the meeting and the issues involved, and here too is the text of the paper he presented on transboundary river basin management. [27/09/04]

Ramsar appoints a Convention Development Officer. The Secretary General, Peter Bridgewater, has announced that, "following an advertisement for the Ramsar Secretariat position of Convention Development Officer in July/August and a field of over 60 good applicants, the selection panel is said to have unanimously chosen Sebastià Semene Guitart, who will start in the position on 1 October 2004. Sebastià has already been working in the Secretariat since January, seconded from Andorra, as Special Assistant: Media, Outreach & Culture." Here is the Secretary General's brief introduction to the responsibilities of the position and the background of its new incumbent. [24/09/04]

Announcement.Ramsar seeks Intern for the Americas region. Please feel free to distribute as appropriate this announcement of a forthcoming vacancy in the Ramsar Convention Secretariat for the position of Intern / Assistant Advisor for the Americas, a 12-month posting (possibly extendable to 18 months) in the Secretariat in Switzerland to begin 24 February 2005. With an age limit for applicants of 30 years old, the post offers an opportunity for young graduates to become acquainted with the workings of an intergovernmental treaty dealing with the conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Candidates for this internship should be nationals of countries in the Americas and have lived most of their lives in the region. Full ability to work in English and Spanish is required for this post.Prospective candidates: please view the General Terms of Reference for Ramsar internships (also available from the Secretariat), which includes conditions of service and salary structure, and send the application form attached to the General Terms of Reference, a covering letter, both in English and Spanish, explaining your interest in an internship with the Ramsar Secretariat and your future career goals, your CV, as well as two letters of reference from your previous supervisors or dean of the faculty where you carried out your studies, to jobapplications@iucn.org. The deadline for applications is 22 October 2004. [23/09/04]

Announcement. Ramsar opening for Intern for Europe. The Ramsar Secretariat welcomes applications for the position of Intern / Assistant Advisor for Europe, a 12-month posting (possibly extendable to 18 months) in the Ramsar Secretariat in Switzerland to begin on 21 February 2005. With an age limit for applicants of 30 years old, the post offers an opportunity for young graduates to become acquainted with the workings of an intergovernmental treaty dealing with the conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Candidates for this internship should be nationals of countries in Europe and have lived most of their lives in the region. Full ability to work in English is required for this post, and knowledge of either French and/or Spanish would be an advantage. Prospective candidates: please view the General Terms of Reference for Ramsar internships (also available from the Secretariat), which includes conditions of service and salary structure, and send the application form attached to the General Terms of Reference, a covering letter in English, explaining your interest in an internship with the Ramsar Secretariat and your future career goals, your CV, as well as the contact details of two referees from your previous supervisors or dean of the faculty where you carried out your studies, to jobapplications@iucn.org.The deadline for applications is 22 October 2004. [22/09/04]

Valdovinos wins contest with wetland photo. On 5 September at the Concurso de Fotografía de Monóvar - XXXVI Salón Nacional de Fotografía, the 36th annual national photo contest in Monóvar in Alicante, one of the oldest in Spain, Juan Carlos Valdovinos of Palma de Mallorca (on the right), who has for many years been the Ramsar Convention's principal translator for Spanish, won first prize in the "color" category. He submitted six photographs with the theme "In praise of water" and his winning photo was "Silver water with coot". A bit more information can be found here, and the full press report is available from the Monóvar newspaper, http://www.monover.com/guia/prensa/per/31ago04.htm. [20/09/04]

Ramsar visit to Andorra. During their visit to the principality of Andorra, Peter Bridgewater, the Secretary General, and Sebastià Semene Guitart, in addition to their participation in the 5th International Congress of Andorra on the Environment, had the opportunity to meet with high-level officials and firm up plans for Andorra's accession to the Convention, which is presently planned for a signing ceremony to be held at the Ramsar Secretariat in October. Here is Sebastià Semene's brief report on both these discussions and the progress of the Congress so far. [16/09/04]

Announcement.Invitation To Apply For Data From ESA For Water Related Projects In Africa. The European Space Agency has announced an invitation for the submission of proposals for use of ENVISAT and ERS satellite data in Africa, under the TIGER Initiative. This initiative comprises part of the ESA and UNESCO response to World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD). Within TIGER, African Partners are able to obtain free data from the satellites ENVISAT and ERS, for scientific investigations and/or practical projects related to improved Water Resource Management in Africa. It is important to understand that ESA/TIGER is not offering finance for new projects, but rather is seeking partnership with already existing projects in Africa that would benefit from supplementary satellite data and support. Here is further information in English and Français. [17/09/04]

Ukraine names eleven varied new Ramsar Sites. The Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources of Ukraine, in collaboration with the Wetlands International Black Sea Programme and expert staff members from a number of important protected areas around the country, has presented the data, maps, and designation documents for 11 new Wetlands of International Importance, effective 29 July 2004 and covering 28,401 hectares, in a fascinating variety of habitat types. All of them have already been designated as National Parks or Nature Reserves in-country (one of them is part of the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve 'Askania-Nova') and already have ongoing research activities, in most cases management plans, and in many cases visitor infrastructure. They are found in nearly all parts of the country - coastal sites in Crimea on the Azov and Black Seas (Cape Kazantyp, Karadag, Cape Opuk); a pod or steppe depression also in the south (Chapelsk); a bay of the Dniester River itself (Bakotska Bay) and a canyon and delta of one of its tributaries (the Smotrych); floodplains near the Russian border in the north (Desna) and more in the center of the country (Dnipro-Oril); a lake formed by mountain landslides in the Carpathians (Synevyr); and extensive peatlands in the Polesie area near the Belarus frontier (Perebrody, Polissia mires), which are part of continuing discussions with Belarus and Poland concerning transboundary management.

Ukraine now has 33 Ramsar Sites covering a surface area of 744,651 hectares, and the Convention's global total now reaches 1376 sites covering 122,691,471 ha. Ramsar's Assistant Advisor for Europe, Estelle Gironnet, has prepared brief site descriptions of the new sites which give a strong sense of their value for the biodiversity of the region. The accompanying photographs are by Grygoriy Parchuk. [15/09/04]

Serbia and Montenegro names new salt site for the List. The Institute for Nature Conservation of Serbia has provided outstanding well-completed documents (Ramsar Information Sheet, map and photos) for the inclusion of a unique salina area in Serbia and Montenegro into the List of Wetlands of International Importance. As described by Prof Dr Lidija Amidžic, Director of the Institute, the value of the natural characteristics and biodiversity of the new designated Ramsar site Slano Kopovo is "so high that it is almost off-chart for estimation. This act is a crown of our many years of wishes and plans to get Slano Kopovo, besides the status of Important Bird Area (IBA), also the well-deserved international recognition as a new Ramsar area." Ramsar's Estelle Gironnet has provided a brief description of Slano Kopovo (976 hectares, 45º38’N 020º13’E), designated effective 22 July 2004, a Special Nature Reserve and IBA in Vojvodina province, based on the materials provided by the government of Serbia and Montenegro, and here it is. [14/09/04]

Announcement.Asian Wetland Symposium extends abstracts deadline.Ms Reiko Nakamura (reiko.nakamura@nifty.com), Secretary-General of the Ramsar Center Japan, writes: "As informed on August 10, 2004 on this website, Asian Wetland Symposium 2005 (AWS2005) is calling for papers. In the previous announcement, the deadline of submission of abstract was September 10, 2004. Since the first announcement, the secretariat has received a number of abstracts. But the International Steering Committee of AWS2005 decided on September 4 to extend the deadline to December 10 in order to invite more papers. The authors will be requested to send a full paper as well as an abstract by the above date. The door for AWS2005 is still open. The organizers encourage those who are interested in Asian wetland conservation and wise use to contribute to AWS2005. Please refer to detailed information on AWS website (www.aws2005.com)." [link later removed][14/09/04]

The Asian Wetland Symposium 2005: Innovative Approaches to Sustainable Livelihood will be held on 6-9 February 2005 in Bhubaneswar and Chilika Lake, India, jointly organized by Ramsar Center Japan, Chilika Development Authority, the Department of Forest and Environment, the Government of Orissa and the Ministry of Forest and Environment, India.

Now available.Information on the Ramsar Pan-European Regional Meeting. The 5th European Regional Meeting on the implementation and effectiveness of the Ramsar Convention will take place in Yerevan, Armenia, 4-8 December 2004, as an important part of the regional preparations for the 9th Conference of the Parties (COP9) to be held in Kampala, Uganda, 7-15 November 2005, with the theme "Wetlands and water - supporting life, sustaining livelihoods". The 5th Regional Meeting of the European Contracting Parties aims to analyse the major issues and concerns that characterize the expansion of the Convention and its work in the region. It will provide the opportunity to share experience and to discuss common problems, major achievements, and the need for future actions. An index Web page has been set up for the meeting and now includes the provisional Programme and Agenda and a collection of Practical Information for the delegates -- more information, including agenda documentation, will be added as it becomes available. [14/09/04]

Announcement. Wetland symposium set for USA. National Symposium- Wetlands 2004: Wetlands and Migratory Birds: PROTECTING AND RESTORING WETLANDS OF INTERNATIONAL SIGNIFICANCE. October 19-20, 2004, Hilton Kansas City Airport, Kansas City, Missouri. With a Field Seminar: Wetlands and Bird Habitat in Living Landscape, October 21-22, 2004, Great Bend, Kansas (Optional Field Trip). Please visit the Association of State Wetland Mangers Website for Conference Updates and Additional Information: http://www.aswm.org/calendar/wetlands2004/agenda2004.htm. Questions Regarding Program, Contact: Jon Kusler, Associate Director, ASWM, 1434 Helderberg Trail, Berne, NY 12023; (518) 872-1804; Fax: (518) 872-2171, jon.kusler@aswm.org; www.aswm.org. Questions Regarding General Registration, Speaker Registration, Scholarships, and Exhibits, Please Contact: Laura Burchill, ASWM, 2 Basin Road, Windham, ME 04062; (207) 892-3399; Fax: (207) 892-3089; laura@aswm.org. Margarita Astralaga, Ramsar Secretariat, will be speaking on "Ramsar and the Protection of Wetlands and Birds: Lessons from the International Ramsar Experience" and there will be a break-out session devoted to "Using the Ramsar Process to Protect Wetlands of International Significance" with Dwight Shellman, Caddo Lake Institute; Royal C. Gardner, Stetson University College of Law; Joyce Namde, U.S. Department of State; Gilberto Cintron, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. [13/09/04]

UNITAR to host wetland biodiversity workshop in Kushiro. The United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) Office for Asia and the Pacific in Hiroshima (HOAP) will be conducting a workshop under its Series on Biodiversity. The session, to be held in Kushiro, Hokkaido, Japan, from 29 November to 3 December 2004, will focus on wetlands, biodiversity and water: new tools for the ecosystem approach. It will introduce participants to basic knowledge, information and updates on the legal system and current topics regarding the ecosystem approach, present leading policies and strategies including their successes and failures, explain legal and policy planning techniques, discuss case studies and practical exercises, and enhance long-term learning and exchange among the participants. The study tour to the Kushiro wetland (familiar to participants in Ramsar's COP5 in 1993) will provide additional learning opportunities and a practical case study. Further information, including an online application form, is available on at http://www.unitar.org/hiroshima/kushiro04.html. [10/09/04]

Ramsar/MedWet staff news. New Communications Officer joins MedWet.Spyros Kouvelis, MedWet Coordinator, welcomes Ms Sofia Spirou (sofia@medwet.org) as the MedWet Coordination Unit's new Communications Officer, replacing our longtime friend Maria Anagnostopoulou. Sofia´s work has developed broadly across the fields of environment, economics and sustainability, focusing both on policy analysis and communications. She began her professional training in 1999 as an associate of the Center for Science and Environment, a New Delhi-based organization relaying environment and development research analysis to policy makers, participants in international negotiations and academics. After a stint in humanitarian aid she returned to work for the environment, undertaking a series of consultancies for regional and international organizations and NGOs including UNEP and the International Center for Trade and Sustainable Development. Before joining the MedWet Coordination Unit, she worked as fundraising and communications officer for BirdLife Greece. She holds a Masters degree in History of International Relations from the London School of Economics and a Bachelors in Economics from the same school. She is fluent in English, French and Greek. She has just taken up her duties and is based in the Athens, Greece, offices of the Ramsar Convention's MedWet Unit. [09/09/04]

Management planning process for Humedales Chaco. On 2 September a workshop was held in Resistencia, Argentina, to begin the process of consultative development of a management plan for the Humedales Chaco, which was designated as a Ramsar Site on World Wetlands Day 2004. More than 70 participants, among them technicians, civil servants, researchers, producers, fisherfolks, teachers, students and NGO representatives, discussed their objectives and opportunities and set the basis for a management plan for the region. The workshop was organized by the Ministerio de la Producción del Chaco, the Subsecretaría de Recursos Naturales y Medio Ambiente, the Dirección de Fauna, Parques y Ecología, and Fundación PROTEGER-Amigos de la Tierra, Argentina. A report from Fundación PROTEGER is available here in English and Español, as well as on PROTEGER's Web site, http://www.proteger.org.ar/documento.php?id=252, with further information and photos. [08/09/04]

Related story.Workshop on the Paraguay and Paraná wetlands corridor. On 3 September, Fundación PROTEGER and the Subsecretaría de Recursos Naturales y Ambiente del Chaco met with teachers, students, public employees, producers, fisherfolks, NGO representatives and native communities, among different social stakeholders, for a workshop in Los Palmas on the banks of the Paraguay River, in the site of the Humedales Chaco Ramsar Site, for a workshop on further Ramsar Site designations on the Paraguay and Paraná rivers' wetlands corridor. Here is a brief report on that workshop as well, with a link to the Spanish version. [09/09/04]

Mozambique becomes the Convention's 141st Party. The Ramsar Secretariat is delighted to report that UNESCO has sent notification that on 3 August 2004 Mozambique deposited its instrument of accession to the Convention on Wetlands, as amended by the Paris Protocol (1982) and Regina Amendments (1987), and the Convention will therefore enter into force for Mozambique on 3 December 2004. The new Party's first Wetland of International Importance is the "Marromeu Complex", which comprises the Marromeu Buffalo Reserve and four surrounding hunting concessions in Northern Sofala Province. The Complex, which has a total area of 1,300,000 hectares, includes more than 680,000 ha of dry forest and woodland savanna, floodplain grassland, deep-water swamp, costal dunes and mangrove forest. It supports a great diversity and abundance of wildlife including Cape buffalo Syncerus caffer, waterbuck Kobus ellipsiprymnus, sable antelope Hippotragus niger, Lichtenstein's hartebeest Sigmoceros lichtensteinii, Burchell's zebra Equus burchellii and African elephant Loxodonta africana. The Marromeu Reserve and surroundings are integrated in the larger Zambezi basin, 1.33 million Km2 extent, which incorporate four distinct biomes and numerous habitats. A more substantial description of the fascinating new Ramsar Site will follow after the site data has been studied by the Africa team in the Secretariat, but in the meantime we welcome Mozambique to the Ramsar family as our 141st Contracting Party.

The Secretariat would particularly like to acknowledge the considerable support offered by the WWF Living Waters Programme and the WWF Maputo office, as well the National Directorate of Environmental Management of Mozambique, whose assistance has been extremely helpful to the Secretariat in moving the accession process forward. [07/09/04]

Wetland Awards deadline not so very far off. The Wetland Conservation Awards ("for actions that have significantly contributed to long-term conservation and sustainable use of wetlands") were established by the Ramsar Convention in 1996 in order to recognize and honor the contributions of individuals, organizations, and governments around the world towards promoting the conservation and wise use of wetlands. The 2005 Awards will be made in the three categories of management, science, and education, and as in the past each will be accompanied by the Evian Special Prize of US$ 10,000, courtesy of the Danone Group (France). The deadline for nominations is 31 October 2004, so friends of wetlands will now be scurrying to pass this information on to their colleagues and, indeed, to nominate one or more of their mentors and formative influences on their careers or even themselves. The general index page, with criteria and nomination forms in English, Français, and Español, can be seen here.

Announcement.Conference: Biodiversity Science and Government. The French Ministry for Research is hosting an international conference in Paris, 24-28 January 2005, under the patronage of President Jacques Chirac and Mr Koïchiro Matsuura, Director General of UNESCO, which is intended to bring scientists and policy makers together to "take stock of the current knowledge, shortcomings and controversial issues concerning biodiversity and its management". The discussions will "strengthen the ongoing global processes" of ensuring the long-term conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity, led by the environment conventions, including the CBD, Ramsar, CITES, CMS, and UNCCD, and international organizations such as UNESCO, UNEP, FAO, IUCN, and the World Bank, amongst others. The brochure is available for download from http://www.recherche.gouv.fr/biodiv2005paris. [07/09/04]

Instituciones de Jalisco protegerán los humedales. México, 26 de agosto de 2004- Guadalajara es sede desde ayer de la Primera Reunión Nacional de Sitios Ramsar, es decir, los humedales protegidos en diferentes partes del mundo de acuerdo con la Convención Ramsar sobre los Humedales. En el marco de esta reunión, a la que acudió el titular del Consejo Nacional de Áreas Naturales Protegidas (CONANP), Ernesto Enkerlin Hoeflich, se firmó la "Declaración de Coordinación Intersectorial de Protección de los Humedales de Jalisco", signada por las secretarías estatales de Medio Ambiente y Desarrollo Rural, además de la Secretaría federal de Medio Ambiente, departamentos de la Universidad de Guadalajara, la misma CONANP y otros organismos. (Fuente: El INFORMADOR). Más Información.

Ramsar visit to Uganda to view COP9 preparations. The Convention's Secretary General, Dr Peter Bridgewater, spent 2-3 September in Uganda to discuss the progress of preparations for Ramsar COP9 (set for 7-15 November 2005), and was met by the Hon. Col. Kahinda Otafiire, Minister for Water, Lands and Environment and other officials in the government. Along with his talks with the relevant authorities, NGOs, donors, and other stakeholders, he was able to participate in the launch of Uganda's most recent State of the Environment report. Patrick Semwogerere, Senior Information, Education and Communication Officer in Uganda Wetlands, has provided this brief report and a few photographs. [04/09/04]

Switzerland approves "Swiss Grant for Africa" for 2004. The Secretariat's Africa team is pleased to announce that the Federal Government of Switzerland (Swiss Agency for the Environment, Forests and Landscape) has agreed to fund the Convention's activities in Africa for another year through the Swiss Grant for Africa. The 2004 Swiss Grant for Africa will allow the Secretariat to support eight projects in the different subregions of the continent and prepare the regional preparatory meeting for COP9 - this will make an important contribution to the team's strategic objectives for Africa, which are focused upon new Party ratifications, designations of new sites, implementation of the Convention, and capacity building. The Swiss Grant for Africa administered by the Ramsar Secretariat is a generous annual contribution, dating back to 1989, offered by the Federal Government of Switzerland over and above the annual contributions provided to the Convention's core budget. [03/09/04]

Dominican Republic's protected areas law raises concerns. The Secretary General of the Ramsar Convention reiterated last week his concern about the new law on Protected Areas which was approved by the Parliament of the Dominican Republic but which is now undergoing litigation as to its unconstitutionality. On the occasion of the nomination of H.E. Dr. Leonel Fernández as the new President of the Dominican Republic, the Secretary General of the Convention on Wetlands, Dr Peter Bridgewater, reminded the Government of its international obligations regarding protected areas. [02/09/04]

¿Qué futuro para los humedales de la República Dominicana? El Secretario General de la Convención de Ramsar reiteró la semana pasada su preocupación acerca de la nueva ley sobre áreas protegidas aprobada por el Parlamento de la República Dominicana pero actualmente demandada por inconstitucionalidad. En ocasión de la toma de posesión de S.E. Dr. Leonel Fernández como nuevo Presidente de la República Dominicana, el Secretario General, Dr. Peter Bridgewater, recordó al Gobierno sus obligaciones internacionales en materia de áreas protegidas. Más aqui.

Announcement.High Andean Wetland Symposium set for Salta, Argentina, 14 to 18 February 2005. The High Andean Flamingos Conservation Group has been working for the past eight years for the conservation of the three flamingo species inhabiting the Andes. The conservation of high Andean wetlands requires transboundary cooperation and common training, research and monitoring programmes. The High Andean Wetland Symposium will provide an exchange opportunity for scientists and wetland managers, as well as for writing the final draft of the High Andean Wetland Strategy, which was discussed in March this year in Ecuador, following Ramsar's Resolution VIII.39 on High Andean Wetlands. The Symposium is sponsored by the Danone-Evian Foundation through funds administered by the Ramsar Convention. More details are available here. [01/09/04]

Simposio de Humedales Altoandinos - Primera circular: Salta, Argentina – 14 al 18 de febrero de 2005. El Grupo Conservación de Flamencos Altoandinos trabaja desde hace ocho años en la conservación de los flamencos altoandinos y sus ambientes con un enfoque regional. Dado qua la conservación de los humedales altoandinos requiere de cooperación transfronteriza y programas comunes de capacitación, investigación y monitoreo, el simposio propiciará el encuentro de científicos y administradores de humedales, y servirá para redactar el borrador final de la Estrategia de Humedales Altoandinos, cuyas discusiones iniciales tuvieron lugar en Quito, Ecuador, en marzo de 2004, en cumplimiento de la Resolución VIII.39 de Ramsar. El simposio está patrocinado por la Fundación Evian –Danone a través de fondos administrados por la Convención de Ramsar. Más información aquí.

Ramsar staff news. New Assistant Advisor chosen for Asia region. The Secretariat is pleased to announce that a new Intern/Assistant Advisor for Asia has been selected from a very strong field of candidates, to begin in late November and to replace Ms Liazzat Rabbiosi who will by then have been helping with Asian issues for the past 18 months. Ms Shahzia Mohsin Khan from Bangladesh is currently working with the IUCN Bangladesh office, where she has responsibility for project development for wetlands, implementing a trade and environment project on sustainable shrimp industry, and coordinating IUCN membership and commissions in Bangladesh. She has also worked on local community management issues in the Tanguar Haor Ramsar site, and on indicators and early warning systems for the Sunderbans wetlands. Shahzia has a degree in environmental sciences from the North South University, Dhaka, and is presently completing a Master's degree on rural development and development economics. It is hoped that she will be able to join the Secretariat soon after participating in the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Bangkok, 17-25 November 2004. [31/08/04]

Ramsar staff news.Annette Keller retires after years of service to IUCN and Ramsar. Annette Keller, presently the Convention's Human Resources Officer, joined IUCN in 1983 and participated in the logistics side of the early Ramsar COPs in 1984 and 1987, in the days when IUCN provided the secretariat duties for the Convention. Following the creation of the permanent Ramsar secretariat, Annette joined the Bureau, as it was then called, and served for many years as Small Grants Fund officer and Administration Coordinator, amongst other roles. For her logistical help, in any number of languages, to generations of Standing Committee, STRP, and COP participants over many years, she is doubtless one of the best known and most appreciated of all Ramsar staff members, and the first who's made it to retirement. Annette is extraordinarily active in cultural and charitable affairs and a great traveler, and one feels that her retirement from the burdens of the secretariat will be welcome to her and put to very good use. With, of course, nostalgic reflections about Ramsar from time to time. Here are some photos of Annette's retirement party and her congratulatory letter from the Chair of the Ramsar Standing Committee. [30/08/04] Photos of Annette Keller's last Ramsar staff meeting. [01/09/04]

More to follow. Watch this space. Feedback and suggestions are welcome to: the Ramsar Convention Secretariat, Rue Mauverney 28, CH-1196 Gland, Switzerland (tel +41 22 999 0170, fax +41 22 999 0169, e-mail ). Updated regularly by Dwight Peck, Ramsar Secretariat.